CHapter 71

Chapter 71

The lab crew were all whiz kids Noella plucked from the brink of the international warzones. Their IQs had been cranked up to the maximum humans could handle. They rattled off the experimental data Noella needed in under five minutes.

“Boss, I’m gonna run a control experiment on Mirage Grass, see what ailments it really kicks. butt against.

Noella skimmed the data and quickly zeroed in on the vital clue. “Highly likely it’s brain cancer. Half an hour later, the control experiment results were in, and Mirage Grass was a

game–changer for brain cancer but only had side effects like an anesthetic or hallucinogen for other diseases.

It was a godsend for patients with screwy minds, or who had been under mental duress for ages, but for those with their heads screwed on right, it was pure poison.

“Boss, how the heck did you figure that out? That’s just nuts; you’re even smarter than us!”

“Set up the new experiment. I need five hundred slides.”

Five hundred slides meant Phecda and Megrez were in for hours of hustle, but they didn’t utter a peep and got cracking, seamlessly working in sync with Noella to carry out the experiment methodically.

After finishing up in the lab, Noella stepped out to find night had fallen–it wasn’t early by any stretch.

She then remembered she had promised Ulrich she would swing by his lab that afternoon. She had blown it off, and Ulrich must’ve been blowing up her phone.

She pulled out her phone, and sure enough, there were twenty missed calls and a barrage of over fifty messages.

[Sis, where you at?]

[Got caught up in something? Hit me back when you see this!]

Noella quickly dialed back, chatting with Ulrich as she made her way to a car parked at the curb and hopped in.

“Ulrich, I got tied up this afternoon; it totally slipped my mind to tell you. I’m with Palmer now, be home in a jiff.”

Hearing her voice nearly brought Ulrich to tears!

“Alright, as long as you’re safe. I was scared you got nabbed by aliens or something! Next time, give me a heads up, okay?”

11:14

“Got it.”

Ulrich had been worried sick about Noella and couldn’t even focus on surgeries. Even thought the surgeries went well, he was so distracted he nearly stitched up Noella’s name. If it weren’t for worrying about stressing out his sis, he would’ve sent way more messages!

Palmer was dealing with contracts in the car, only putting them aside when Noella climbed in.

“Tuckered out? I’ll take you to dinner, then home.”

Noella glanced at the mountain of contracts by Palmer’s hand. “Why are you working in the car? Your company went belly up? Or did the Pollack Group building get knocked out by an earthquake?”

“I’m chuffed you’re worried about my safety, but both the company and the Pollack Group building are A–OK. Just wanted to make sure you had a ride when you got out, so I came to get

you.”

Noella couldn’t be bothered to get her driver’s license, even though driving was a cinch for her. But things are different in Imperial City than in the international warzones, and Noella didn’t want to be a hassle for the Schnabel family, so she either got a lift from them or hailed a cab.

“How’d you know I was at the lab?”

Palmer chuckled, took her hand in his, and played with it. “Since you agreed to Thorpe’s request, you’d definitely be researching Mirage Grass. If not at Ulrich’s lab, then here. The gear I sent over is way better than Ulrich’s.”

The moment the equipment arrived, the men in Lunar Lab poked and prodded and tweaked it all over again. Partly because the geniuses didn’t trust anyone but Noella, and they wouldn’t touch the equipment unless they were sure it hadn’t been tampered with.

The other reason was their experiments were so frequent that regular machines just couldn’t take the high–load action..

The current setup was perfect for Lunar Lab!

The secretary drove into the city center and asked, “President, which restaurant are we heading.

to?”

Palmer’s gaze rested on Noella next to him, draped in his suit jacket, her head tilted slightly, fast asleep. In the dim night, her sleeping face was exceptionally peaceful and cute.

The high–frequency experiments were brain–draining and tough on the heart; she must’ve been beat to fall asleep next to him.

As an assassin, dozing off next to another assassin could only mean she truly trusted him now! Palmer’s heart softened, shifted Noella’s head onto his shoulder to let her sleep more

comfortably. “No need, straight back to the Schnabel Manor.”

“Roger that.”

11:14

Chapter 71

Outside the Schnabel Manor in Serene Haven, Palmer scooped up the snoozing Noella and carried her into the Schnabel family home.

Tristan and Sienna were still being lovey–dovey at her folks, leaving only Stirling in the living. room, supposedly reading a script.

He was “reading a script” but his eyes kept darting to the door, the same spot in the script stared at all night, without even a hint of his part.

Seeing Palmer carry in Noella, Stirling leaped up from the couch and zipped over.

“What’s up with Noella?”

“Asleep. Where’s her room? I’ll take her up.”

Stirling was all defensive, hand outstretched. “No need to trouble you, Mr. Pollack. Hand her over; I’ll take Noella up.”

“She might wake up.”

Palmer showed zero signs of handing Noella over, a faint smile on his face as he faced Stirling. but his words were filled with a no–arguments vibe.

Stirling, seeing Noella’s sleeping face, backed down but warned, “Alright, I’ll show you. But don’t you dare try anything funny!”

Palmer, with Noella in his arms, strode upstairs.

Phoenix Tower at Serene Haven got a makeover that was totally Noella’s jam, but the place was still chock–full of gifts from the four Schnabel brothers and a ton of plushies that Elara snagged – the girly vibes were off the charts!

Palmer gently laid Noella down on the bed and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Nighty night, my adorable fiancée.”

Stirling was leaning against the door, rolling his eyes, but kept his trap shut.

He told himself, “Hold your horses. Stirling. Palmer and Noella are–betrothed, and the dude’s just following protocol. Don’t go flying off the handle and deck him…”

“You can take off now.”

“Do me a solid and rustle up some grub, can you? Noella hasn’t had her dinner yet, and she’ll probably be starving when she wakes up.”

Hearing this, Stirling’s glare at Palmer softened a smidge, but his words were still dripping with sarcasm. “How come Noella’s missed dinner hanging with you? If she marries into the Pollack family, what’s next? Skipping breakfast, too? What on Earth were you up to this afternoon? Ulrich said Noella was off the grid all afternoon!”

No contact all afternoon, looking beat and getting toted back by Palmer…

11:14

Chapter 71

The more Stirling thought about it, the more outrageous it seemed, his head filling with

censor–worthy scenes, damn near ready to shake Noella awake and drill her on what the heck happened!

Did Palmer do something despicable to their little princess?

That was just begging for a fight.

Of course, Palmer wasn’t about to spill the beans about Lunar Lab to Stirling. That’s a secret between him and Noella, not for anyone else’s ears.

“Noella wasn’t feeling top–notch today. If the Schnabel family can’t handle the Lambert situation, just give me a shout, and I’ll step in.”

The mention of the Lambert family had Stirling’s face falling. It was tricky for the Schnabels to make a move – partly because Marcel’s status was super unique, and even a little wave could have a bunch of eyes on them.

Stirling gestured towards his study. “Mr. Pollack, right this way.”

Yvonne got back to the Schnabels‘, raided the kitchen for what felt like ages, and finally stuffed herself silly, belching contentedly.

Nobody from the Schnabel family had the decency to drop off some food while she was cooped up in the hospital! She was starved!

The living room was deserted, a few scripts tossed on the marble tabletop.

Yvonne tiptoed over, snatched up a script, and started flipping through.

Breaking into acting! Even though she usually looked down on celebs, thinking of them as nothing but actors, Stirling was a top–tier movie star. If she hit the screen, raking in the dough would be a piece of cake!